When driving a car, it is often desired to maintain a certain rate of speed, and yet not to exceed that speed. This is a popular feature, and is commercially available in cars which have a cruise control feature. Cruise control has a number of disadvantages. Cruise control is not useful in city streets where the traffic is slow, and often accompanied by frequent stops, and the posted speed limits are low. Cruise control is not practical on busy highways where the traffic is heavy and the general speed of the traffic may fluctuate from relatively high speeds to very low speeds, or stopped conditions. Cruise control is not recommended on winding roads where it is not safe to drive at a steady speed. Cruise control is not effective on hills where maintaining a steady speed requires the application of the accelerator or the brake. Cruise control can be dangerous on slippery roads where fast changes in tire traction can cause needless wheel spinning, and a possible loss of control of the vehicle. At least one known type of cruise control automatically shuts off when the brake is applied and automatically disengages when the optional traction control system begins to limit wheel spin. The driver of the vehicle may forget to restart the cruise control afterwards when resuming a high rate of speed, such that the car may exceed the desired cruising speed without the driver being aware of it. A driver who forgets or is unaware that the cruise control has ceased to function may find benefit in having an overspeed set at a speed beyond the desired cruise control speed, to act as a back-up system.
Whether or not a car has cruise control, a driver can benefit from an automobile overspeed warning system. The primary purpose of an automobile overspeed warning system is to prevent the driver of an automobile from unknowingly or inadvertently operating his or her vehicle in excess of a certain speed limit for safety or other reasons. This enables the driver to concentrate on the challenges of driving, rather than being distracted by constantly monitoring or watching over the speed of his or her vehicle. The driver of the vehicle may be motivated by a desire or need to remain within the posted speed limit, or by a concern or worry for safety under given road or weather conditions. An automobile overspeed warning system reminds or warns the driver that it is not safe, or lawful, to operate his or her vehicle in excess of a certain speed limit in certain circumstances, whether those circumstances are due to mechanical, environmental or legal constraints. An automobile overspeed warning system can provide drivers of automobiles with valuable peace-of-mind.
In an automobile overspeed warning system, the driver of the vehicle can set or select a speed limit anytime, and when the speed of his or her vehicle exceeds that speed limit, a warning to the driver will follow.
When a person is driving, an unduly harsh warning may be startling, and may cause an involuntary reaction that could be dangerous to the driver and to others. For that reason a loud or shrill warning would not be the best solution to the problem. It would be preferable to provide a warning in a gentle, or calming voice, or to use soothing music as a warning that is clearly perceptible to the driver, and yet unlikely to be startling. A driver receiving such a warning can consider the speed of the car carefully and make appropriate changes without undue abruptness.
It would also be advantageous to have an overspeed warning system available in a kit form that can be retro-fit on existing automobiles. To that end, whether the warning system is entirely electrical, entirely mechanical, or some combination of electrical and mechanical components, it would be advantageous to be able to install those components on existing automobile hardware without having to undertake an unreasonable, or uneconomic, amount of work.
Accordingly, there is a need for a relatively simple overspeed warning system that can be used independently of a cruise control system.